Rounded Corners Tutorial

[macmomma]

I use the full version of Photoshop but I think PSE has the same basic tools so this tutorial should be able to translate into both programs.

I use two different techniques to get rounded corners on my paper. There are different ways of doing both, depending on the person, but these are how I do it.

Blurring and adjusting levels

1. Have the paper you want to use open in Photoshop or PSE
2. Take your rectangular marquee tool and make your desired shape, do not deselect.
3. Make sure your Layers Pallette is on your screen and click on the Channels tab. Make a new Channel and keep the defaults. Your paper should look black now.
4. Fill the selection with white and deselect the shape.
5. Now blur the shape with a Guassian Blur of about 50 or so...you can experiment with how much of a rounded corner you want when you get the hang of doing it this way.
6. Now we need to adjust the IMAGE > ADJUSTMENTS > LEVELS. Bring your left and right slider for the INPUT levels to the middle so that all three are in the middle. You should see your shape getting crisper and the corners should be round now.
7. Hold down your CTRL key and click on your "Alpha" channel to select the new shape
8. Click back on your Layers tab and click on your paper layer. You should see the selection of the shape you just made.
9. Now go to SELECT > INVERSE and hit delete. You should be left with your paper selection with the rounded corners!


Custom Shape Tool

1. Have the paper you want to use open in Photoshop or PSE
2. Go to your tools and click on the Custom Shape Tool (looks like a squiggly paint splotch) At the top of the screen you should now see a variety of shape tools. Select the Rounded Rectangular tool.
3. Insert the radius you would like (from 1 - 100) The higher the number the more rounded the corner will be.
4. Now draw your desired shape on your paper. The shape will automatically fill with a solid colour but don't worry about that.
5. On your layers pallete you will notice a new layer was created above your paper layer. CTRL and click on this layer to select the shape and then click the trash and say OK to deleteing the Vector Mask.
6. Now your entire paper should be one solid colour. Click the trash can again and say OK to deleting the layer "Shape 1"
7. Your original paper should be up on your screen now with the selection. Now just go to SELECT > INVERSE and hit delete and there is your rounded corner shape.

[HollyS]

Yaay!! Thanks girly for contributing these!

[okblues]

Thank you Amy, these are wonderful!

[ginabee]

Thanks for the lesson. You read my mind.

[Pahina722]

A quick alternative in PSE 5.0 is to use the Cookie Cutter Tool.

1) Open the paper/photo you want to round.
2) Select the Cookie Cutter Tool and choose the shape from the drop-down menu at the top. You'll have the same choices as with the Custom Shape Tool.
3) Make sure you have the layer of the paper/photo you want to round selected and draw the shape. Hold down the space bar to move the outline to exactly the correct position.
4) When you are satisfied with the positioning, click the check mark and your paper/photo will be cropped into the shape you wanted.

[Antonia]

Thank you for the great write up so very helpful

[britnkaysmemaw2]

Thanks for the tuts. You gals here at GDS are so awesome & always helping us out with new tips.

[MsRed]

Originally Posted by Pahina722

A quick alternative in PSE 5.0 is to use the Cookie Cutter Tool.

This can also be really neat!

Thanks for letting us know!

[darlingina]

Thanks for the helpful tip!

[southflascrapper]

This tutorial was very appreciated by me! Thank you for taking the time to post these instructions for us.
Smiles from Fort Lauderdale, FL